Young cancer patient defies odds

There is no hesitation when Jill Verslues explains the role that St. Jude Research Hospital has played in her family’s lives over the last nine years.

“As a parent, when you walk in there the first time, you are scared to death,” she said.

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Elaina was just 12 weeks old when she was diagnosed with juvenile pilocytic astrocytoma, brain tumors. At that time, she had a 6-centimeter tumor in her mid-brain. Now nearly nine years later, Elaina has defied odds.